Coroner's Court of Western Australia

Inquest into the Death of Christine Pearl STRONER

Inquest into the Death of Christine Pearl STRONER

Delivered on :17 February 2017

Delivered at : Perth

Finding of : Coroner King

Recommendations :N/A

Orders/Rules : N/A

Suppression Order : N/A

Summary : The deceased was a 69 year old woman who was admitted to the surgical short stay unit at Fremantle Hospital on 2 April 2013 for a laparoscopic gall bladder removal and hiatus hernia repair. The operation proceeded that day without complication despite her significant comorbidities.   She was to be discharged the next day.

On 3 April 2013 the deceased was noted to have a relatively fast heart rate so a doctor reviewed her and determined that she could be discharged. She was transferred from the surgical short stay unit to the transit lounge where her husband picked her up and took her home in the late afternoon.

At home the deceased told her husband that she had felt shaky and had been unable to dress herself earlier that day. The deceased’s husband called Fremantle Hospital and was advised to check the deceased’s blood sugar levels and to give her the medication supplied.  The deceased went to sleep on a bed in the lounge room while her husband watched TV.  Later that evening the deceased’s husband noticed that the deceased had stopped breathing.  He called for an ambulance and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but the deceased could not be revived.

A forensic pathologist conducted a post mortem examination but was unable to identify a definitive cause of death. Medical experts provided evidence on the standard of post-operative treatment and care provided to the deceased.

The Coroner found that the deceased died from an unascertained cause and made an open finding as to how death occurred. The Coroner found that the care provided to the deceased at Fremantle Hospital was adequate.

Catch Words : Fremantle Hospital : Gall bladder : Hiatus hernia : Day surgery : Post-Operative care : Co-morbidities : Unascertained cause of death : Open Finding.

 


Last updated: 10-Jul-2024

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